Ex-prisoner escapes while being escorted to Germany as escorts slept

BANGKOK, May 28 (UPI) -- A man being returned to Germany to face charges after finishing a jail term in Australia escaped at a Thai airport as his escort slept, Thai authorities said.

Thai police placed a bounty of 10,000 baht (about $333) for the capture of Carlo Konstantin Kohl, who escaped custody at the Suvarnabhumi airport May 15 and disappeared in the greater Bangkok area, the Bangkok Post reported Tuesday.

"What we know now is that Kohl has left the airport," said Suvitchpol Imjairat, chief of Thailand's Immigration Bureau at the airport.

The Australian police escorts accompanying him fell asleep in a transit room at the airport while awaiting a connecting flight to Germany that had been delayed.

Suvitchpol said Kohl had completed a prison term in Australia and, under Australian law, was being accompanied by Australian authorities back to his country to face outstanding charges there. Kohl is accused of being a leader of a gang of thieves in Germany.

The Post said Kohl has a history of drug use, robbery and violent crimes committed in Germany, as well as in the Australian states of Queensland and Victoria.

Australian media reported Kohl was a drug runner, and breaking into homes along Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

The (Brisbane) Telegraph said Kohl "went on a crime spree to raise $25,000 to cover a drug debt he incurred by misplacing about 1,000 ecstasy tablets he had been trafficking."

The Sydney Morning Herald said Kohl had served three years in jail in Queensland on drug, theft and other charges when he was released.

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